‘Enshittification’: Macquarie dictionary announces word of the year in 2024 | World News

Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary has awarded the term ‘enshittitization’, which it defines as “the gradual decline in the quality of a service or product, particularly online platforms, due to a focus on profit maximisation”, with the title of ‘word of the year’. .

The term was coined in 2022 by writer Cory Doctorow, who stated: “We are all going through the enshittocene, a massive bullshit where the services we rely on become a giant pile of shit.”

Although this new word is unfamiliar to its usage, it encapsulates the experience of social media users, especially in today’s age where trolls, extremists and other undesirable elements diminish the value and utility of platforms.

The committee that chose the word “sortivation” described it as “a very simple Anglo-Saxon term wrapped in suffixes that sound almost formal, almost respectable”.

The author, who coined the term Doctorow, explained that this phenomenon follows a three-stage process.

First, platforms will treat their users well, then they will exploit them for the benefit of their corporate customers, and finally they will betray their corporate customers to get all the value for themselves.

“This is frustrating. This is depressing. “It’s even scary,” he said.

The Macquarie Dictionary committee also gave honorable mentions to several other terms, such as “right to disconnect” and “evil”.

But “demonetization” not only won the committee’s votes, it also took home the people’s choice award.

“This word reflects what many of us feel is happening in the world and in many areas of our lives,” the committee explained.

Doctorow added a fourth stage to the event in which the platform was destroyed. He notes that everyone also has a role to play in “disruption” and the elimination of big tech.